Succour
by Moving Mountains
Summary: In times of hardship, the Titans have always been there to support each other. But can they do so when an unwelcome visitor rears its ugly head... [One-shot]


Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or anything affiliated with it.

* * *

She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. She couldn't stop the panic forcing its way into her mind. "He's going to be fine… He's going to be fine… He's going to be fine…" she repeated, until she lost all concept of time, until the sun began to set and hand over its duty to the moon. She felt the cool summer breeze caress her face as she regained her composure. Still feeling uneasy, she focused on the waves kissing the shore.

That's where Robin found her later that evening, on the roof after searching her usual whereabouts and finding no trace of the sorceress.

"Raven, it'll be alright, I promise."

"You know better than to make promises you can't keep."

The seething undertones of bitterness escaping from her mouth, replacing the usual monotone he was used to hearing, sent his mind into overdrive. Deciding to risk being thrown from the tower rooftop, he placed a strong comforting grip on her cloaked shoulder, relieved when he wasn't suffocated by black energy. She may have let him touch her, but there wasn't a snowflake's chance in hell that she'd let him in: her emotions were trapped inside a locked safe hidden within a puzzling labyrinth – or they may as well have been. It was the one thing that pissed him off about his demonic teammate. You'd waste less time drawing blood from a stone when she was in a mood like this.

"Look-" he started, squeezing the small section of her upper body, "- Cyborg is searching for a cure as we speak. If anyone can find a way to help, it's him," Robin stated, trying to sound more certain than he really felt.

"I should be helping him!" She threw his hand off of her and ducked as the basketball pole and hoop behind her flew past her peripheral vision and over the edge into the water below – followed by some metal grate covers and training equipment. Beside her, she heard Robin cry out in pain and wince. Before she could rein in control, she heard him call out her name and tackle her body onto the cold concrete. The demoness had just enough time to catch her breath when his traffic light clad body fell on top of her own, staring down at her disgruntled. Her head fell back against the rooftop as the chaos calmed down. All around the pair, objects fell from the sky and clattered back down haphazardly. She didn't need to be an empath to know how her leader was feeling; his mask was doing to a terrible job of hiding his resentment.

He wanted to shout at her but knew it would just make things worse, so he counted to ten in his head and expertly removed himself from Raven before offering her hand and pulling her lithe body from the floor. She stumbled into him and apologised, her cheeks tinted a pale pink.

"For what? Not being able to help Beast Boy, the collateral damage or the loss of balance?" he said, eyeing her up and down as she drowned herself in a cloak – a protective barrier.

"All of the above," Raven mumbled, pulling the cloak tighter around her. "I'll fix this mess. You should return to the infirmary: Beast Boy needs you."

"You need me more."

She could have denied it. She could have lied. But he would have seen through all of it as if she were a transparent pane of glass. Damn walking talking bird brain. Proving him wrong, she chanted her famous three words and summoned her powers. In a matter of seconds the items were returned to their original places – albeit with a few dents and cracks here and there.

"I don't _need_ anything."

"You _need_ to stop being so hard on yourself; you did the best you could."

But it wasn't enough, thought Raven, trying her best not to lose further control. If only she had been  
paying closer attention to the fight and Mammoth's positioning then she wouldn't have needed to be saved by the changeling. Who was now unconscious. Who was hospitalised in the infirmary. Who was in his dreaded 'Beast' form.

"What are you going to do to him?" she asked, genuinely curious but afraid of his response. She'd been a healing trance the last time he'd transformed – a result of Adonis' primal transmutation a couple of years ago. But when she heard how Robin had practically castrated the changeling for something he hadn't done – something he'd _never_ do, it took Starfire holding her back and a lot of self-control to not murder her leader. Beast Boy was sensitive about his position and status on the team. She didn't need to be an empath to realise it with his self-deprecating nature and 'comedy'. Robin eating into him for supposedly hurting her would have hit the anamorph in the gut and while it was almost two years ago since the incident, she bet that Beast Boy still hadn't fully healed from it. She'd be damned if Robin shunned him for his mistake… her mistake.

Robin could see the worry in her eyes. He had to admit, he was hurt that she'd think so little of him. The original Beast accident was in the past, and one he wasn't ready to replicate. Raven should have known that.

"I'm not sending him anywhere, Raven," he stated for her benefit, watching as her shoulders relaxed slightly. "We'll find a cure and he'll be back to his normal self in no time," he believed, sounding as confident as he felt, having faith in Cyborg medically and Raven magically.

"What's plan B?"

"We won't need one." Her pessimism, while sometimes accurate, was unwanted right now. He always had a high-tolerance for the demoness and her foul moods but he had to admit, he was fighting to keep his patience. "Once you're back to full strength, I have complete faith that you'll be able to heal him."

"Your faith is misplaced: I tried healing him in the field and it made no difference."

Robin sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He wanted to remind her that in the field she was magically drained, scared and exhausted – no condition to be of any help - but he knew it was futile. Plus he was tired of arguing with her so he walked away, heading back through the door feeling more agitated and confused than when he first stepped through the threshold.

Silence surrounded Raven. She felt awful. While she and Robin often disputed things, he never walked away like that. Slumping to the ground again, she tried to meditate and relieve the foul mood she was stewing in. She couldn't levitate in the air but hoped that chanting would make her feel better.

* * *

In her subconscious, she heard footsteps coming slowly towards her and unfamiliar breathing. Ready to defend herself, she pulled back her fist, powering up her ethereal energy. Just as she was about to release, she felt a large hand curl around hers.

"Woah, girl. It's just me."

Opening her eyes, she took in the surroundings of the night sky, several scattered stars and the uncomfortable concrete roof she had used as a bed. Above her, Cyborg's kind eyes stared into hers as he let go of her clenched hand. She didn't remember falling asleep. Embarrassed to be caught off guard – a regularity it seemed – she smoothed down her ruffled hair and got into a standing position. She asked the half-robot what time it was, to which he replied two in the morning.

"Robin didn't hear you come back in so he sent me up here to find you," he explained.

"Is he still mad at me?" she asked, trying not to sound as small as she felt.

"Mad isn't the word I'd use; disappointed maybe, but not mad." Seeing Raven's face drop, he carried on explaining. "Look," he started, putting a hand on her shoulder, "You're normally the rational, level-headed one and Robin needs you to be that way in any situation – especially when he can't be."

She hadn't thought of it like that, selfishly.

Cyborg shrugged, "I don't blame ya, Rae. If it was me, I'd be acting just you are right now."

"Explain that to Robin," she muttered, moving out of his reach.

"He understands; he's just scared. Last time BB was in this form, he did a lot of damage and bird-brain made a mistake that he still hasn't forgiven himself for."

"That doesn't mean he can put so much pressure on us!" she seethed, wincing as something behind her exploded. Cyborg tactfully ignored it but gave her the same look Robin had been before. "Not you, too," she sighed.

"I've tried medically to induce his change but the drugs aren't working. I'm gonna do some research, contact my old friends at S.T.A.R. but until then, I'm at a loss. We could wait for it to happen naturally but it's been hours now."

"How long can he stay in this form?" she asked after a few moments of contemplative silence.

Cyborg shrugged, "God knows. I'd guess no more than twenty-four hours."

Raven's eyes fell to the floor as she tried her hardest to recall what time Beast Boy had finished transforming as well as what time they'd got back to the tower but she didn't even know what time it was now. Looking at the sun peeking over the horizon, she guessed it was the early hours of dawn – perhaps five o'clock – which meant he only had approximately…

"Twelve hours," Cyborg said as if he'd read her mind. "Enough time for you to stop stressing."

"But-" Raven started, but her robotic friend interrupted her with a stern glare.

"Stop talking and listen." His tone stunned her into silence. First Robin, now him?

"You're going to go to that spooky-ass room of yours and get some sleep in a proper bed. Then, you're gonna have some tea and food, slap a big ol' smile on that face of yours, apologise to Robin and try to turn our beloved grass stain back into his usual pointy-toothed self. Understand?"

She could have argued – especially about the apology part – but it would have been futile. She didn't protest when he turned her around by her shoulders and lightly shoved her towards the door, encouraging her to do as she was told. If it were anyone else, they'd have been dead the moment their skin had contact. But Cyborg wasn't 'anyone else', he was an older brother figure and - though she hated to admit it – he was normally right. So she made her way through the door to her room, closed the door and laid on the comfortable bed. Sleep consumed her straight away.

* * *

When she awoke, it was to the sight of bright sunlight staring at her through the windows and the sound of knocking on her metal door. Without moving anything but her eyes, she summoned the door open to let Robin inside. He wasn't deterred by the sight of her looking disheveled; nothing compared to seeing her practically naked after Slade threw her off the roof when her prophecy was first revealed. It was nice to see Raven with her guard down for a change, looking vulnerable and human. He put down the tea and toast he was holding onto her bedside table and sat on the end of her bed while she became fully awake. Raven thanked him for the food before doing as Cyborg advised and apologised for her moodiness the night before. He smiled, shrugging as if it never happened.

"I'm sorry too: I should have given you more time to process your thoughts."

"No, I shouldn't have been so negative. I realise now that it's the last thing we all need," she said before taking a bite of the toast – burnt just as she liked it.

"It's been nineteen hours since Beast Boy became the Beast and I know you won't want to waste any time. Are you up to trying to heal him again?" Robin asked, approaching the question tentatively. Raven simply nodded, abandoning the toast in favour of the tea. She quietly sipped the warm liquid and tried not to worry about the task ahead.

Yesterday was the first time she'd properly encountered the Beast. Chronologically, the first time – when Adonis took on the form and attacked her – it had happened so quickly that she didn't remember much about it other than what the others had explained in the aftermath. So, when she saw her teammate screaming in agony as his body was ripped apart and reconfigured into the titanic figure, she was stunned by not only the power it possessed, but by the beauty exuding from the creature before her. It had happened very quickly. One minute, she was being pinned down by Mammoth and the next he was being thrown through the air and the foreign face of her younger comrade appeared. While his appearance had drastically changed, the bright emerald eyes behind the fur revealed the soul present in the body. Her empathy allowed her to feel how trapped he felt, a prisoner locked in a cell, seeing everything he was doing but unable to claim control.

She was so mesmerised by his feelings of helplessness that she didn't see the massive paw swiping down towards her; luckily her friends did. Starfire stormed towards her in flight and heavily shoved her away from the paw, her own speed meaning she avoided being hurt in the crossfire. Wincing as she rose from the concrete floor in the downtown district, Raven focused on the task at hand: apprehending Beast Boy – although she really wanted to apprehend the villain behind her friend's unforeseen transformation. Darting her eyes around the alleyways and rooftops, she internally cursed as she watched Mammoth and the rest of the H.I.V.E. Five disappear from sight.

Behind her, she heard Starfire cry out to Beast Boy to stop fighting them but her attempts were useless as the green being charged once more, narrowly missing the Tamaranian. Robin jumped on the Beast's back but was thrown off; she caught him in a hand of dark energy and carefully lowered him to the ground while Cyborg charged his sonic cannon and apologised before firing it at the green creature. Beast Boy was stunned, staggering around the street and knocking over lampposts and falling into shop windows but the effect didn't last long. Fortunately, it was long enough for the other three to stand beside her. They looked at each other, fighting the internal struggle to not harm him but they all knew they had no other choice. Together they fired at Beast Boy, ignoring the sickening sound he made as he slumped to the ground unconscious. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke.

Finally, Robin stepped forward, hesitating as he got closer to the hairy mass in the middle of the debris-ridden road. Citizens of Jump City – assuming it was safe – came out of hiding and began to ascend on the street, camera phones flashing as they photographed the Beast. Cyborg shouted at them all to stop but he was outnumber by the crowd. Raven fell through a portal and reappeared next to Robin. No words were needed: he nodded at her and she began to pour her healing energy into her fallen comrade. Sweat dripped down her face as she made more effort, yet he did not wake or even transform like she hoped. Unable to hold herself up, she staggered to her knees and continued her work, willing the huge green monster to shrink back into the annoying changeling she was used to seeing. It didn't work. Raven hated giving up, she truly did, but she knew she couldn't continue much longer. Just as the edges of her vision began to blur, Robin pulled her away and held her steady until her eyes refocused. She stared at Beast Boy; he hadn't changed. Frustrated, she used the last reserves of energy to teleport him to the safe confines of the tower, leaving her other teammates alone to clear up after the battle.

She didn't care if they thought she was selfish; she didn't feel guilty for not helping crowd control. All she felt was anguish. But she couldn't let that stop her from her duty of care. She reopened the portal in the infirmary, straining as she dropped Beast Boy on a bed. His limbs hung loosely over the sides, his huge frame filling the sterile room. She hated to admit it, but she felt afraid. Taking a deep breath, she began circling his body, looking for any injuries and failing to find any. Adrenaline pumped around her body as she looked closely at his face, allowing a sad smile to escape at the sight of the snaggletooth protruding from his mouth. Warm breath caressed her cheeks, blowing her hair away from her.

 _'What can I do?'_ she thought desperately, willing to hear Beast Boy's voice. She didn't know what would happen if he sustained this form for too long. Thinking back to her years in the company of the changeling, she couldn't recall a time when he stayed as an animal for more than a few minutes. _'What if he doesn't change back?'_ She didn't know why the thought panicked her, but it did. Rationality left her mind and she felt herself about to lose control. _'Not here!'_ She ran from the room, leaving Beast Boy alone, and ran to the roof. She slammed open the door and took several deep breaths as she calmed the voices in her head. _"He's going to be fine... He's going to be fine... He's going to be fine…"_

Raven's mind drifted back to the present. She was no longer in her room with Robin, but in front of the infirmary where she'd abandoned Beast Boy the night before. Inside, she could hear Starfire and Cyborg talking although it was muffled because of the barrier between them. Stepping closer to the entrance, the door glided open to reveal the familiar sight of the white medical room. On the bed furthest to the right, Beast Boy lay in the same position as before.

"Did you take my advice?" Cyborg asked, turning his attention away from Starfire, who was seated next to Beast Boy's bed.

"Other than the 'big ol' smile', yes," the sorceress replied, nodding in acknowledgment to Starfire. "Sorry for taking off yesterday."

"There is no need to apologise, friend Raven," the alien's gentle voice floated across the room. "Cyborg's attempts have been unsuccessful, as you can see," she said, gesturing to their friend who remained in his gargantuan form. "Are you well enough to try and change him back?" She asked, concerned for Raven's well-being as well as Beast Boy's.

"All I can do is try," she replied.

"That's all we can ask for," Cyborg smiled. "We'll give you some privacy."

Together they left the room, giving Raven some time to gather her thoughts. Something Starfire had said stayed with her: change him back. Maybe it wasn't about _her_ forcing the change, but encouraging it. Running from the room to conserve the energy she'd need, she went back to her bedroom and grabbed her mirror from the draw in the bedside table, nearly spilling the cold mug of tea she'd forgotten about. She arrived back in the infirmary filled with hope – albeit mixed with a nagging sense of fear. She'd never used her mirror to access someone else's mind. She could guess what the complications of attempting such a feat would be, but she lacked certainty. The demoness had only ever created a mind meld with one other person – her leader – and even that was an accident.

Praying to a God she didn't believe in, Raven held the mirror against Beast Boy's head, closed her violet eyes and whispered an incantation. She opened them again, the infirmary replaced by the view of a decrepit forest. The Beast sat on a broken tree stump ahead of her.

"Beast Boy?" she said, her voice echoing through the dense woodland. The creature flinched, swiftly turning to face her.

"I'm here to bring you home," she said calmly, disguising her apprehension as best she could. Suddenly, the Beast leapt from the trunk and landed with a thud in front of her, snarling as he leaned in close to her pale face. Raven stood her ground. She couldn't let him know she was afraid. She couldn't show him any weakness.

"You've been in this form long enough," she started, staring into his eyes. "You saved me from Mammoth; now you can turn back."

The Beast eyed her up and down before sniffing her body. It was too close for comfort, his nose snuffling against the leotard that clung to her skin, but she kept her composure and let the animal fulfil its protective instinct. Beast Boy had explained what it was like to be an animal to her many times over the years and she'd always been interested in hearing about the instincts and urges he had to battle against of a daily basis to fit in with every day society. The memory that immediately sprung to the forefront of her mind was after Malchior deceived her and revealed his true self: a dragon. Afterwards, Beast Boy had supported her as she wallowed in self-pity. It was the first time she felt connected to him.

The giant nose nudged her, making her lose balance and refocusing her attention to her friend in need. "You were there for me when I needed you most, Garfield; now I'm here for you."

His eyes turned downwards and she could feel the struggle the Beast was going through. She could feel Beast Boy trying to take hold again like a captain over a vessel in the stormy sea. All she could do was keep talking to him, not to the outside shell.

"You can regain control: you did it before and you can do it again," she encouraged. She was met by a grunt and for some strange reason, it was as if she knew what he was asking: _'Did I hurt anyone?'_

"You didn't hurt anyone, Garfield – except for a few lampposts. Everyone is fine: the H.I.V.E., Mammoth, your friends and me. The only one who isn't fine is you. I need to see you… to know you're alright."

The Beast roared, causing Raven to instantly take a step back. He staggered to the floor with his fingers digging into his skull, his cries ricocheting off the decaying trees. Before her eyes, she watched as the Beast started to shrink. But he wasn't giving up with a fight. Jagged claws sank into the earth beneath him, desperately holding on to the control that was relinquishing as Beast Boy fought for the helm of his body. His head tossed haphazardly from side to side as if he was literally shaking the Beast from his mind. Raven raised her hands, expelling calming blue energy into him.

"You're okay," she said. "You're almost there. Keep fighting!"

The ground beneath her feet began to crack and shake as Beast Boy continued to take back what was rightfully his. The remaining upstanding trees rustled as a strong gust of wind blew her backwards away from him. She knew she'd helped. She knew she had to get out of the Beast's mind, not wanting to find out the consequences of overstaying her welcome. Raven heard a final ear-splitting roar as she felt herself being pulled out of the realm. She shouted his name once more before everything went white.

* * *

She could hear voices – familiar voices. She couldn't decipher what they were saying but they sounded rushed and muffled. She wished they'd be quiet so she could sleep. She felt herself shaking. What was going on? Was that her name being called? Slowly, her eyes opened. All Raven could see was blurs of colour. Blinking rapidly, she began to make out the traffic light colours of Robin's torso and the bright purple of Starfire's cropped top. She groaned, the sight hurting her aching head. The shaking stopped and she felt herself being turned carefully onto her side.

"-be okay?"

"-sure she will… unconscious… put her… recovery…"

"Beast Boy…"

She tried to move her head but someone was stopping her. "Robin?" she groaned.

"Stay still… checking…" was all Raven could hear, but it was enough. She opened her eyes once more, exhausted. She could see the underside of the beds and chairs and the glint of her mirror a short distance away.

 _'I must have fainted,'_ she thought as she realised she was lying on the floor. _'Trust Robin to take extra precautions… recovery position my ass.'_ She could feel her strength returning, her body naturally healing quicker because of her being half-demon. She turned over, looking up into her leader's mask. "I'm awake," she said monotonously, turning to get up. She felt long fingers wind around her upper arms and lifting her into an upright position.

"Friend Raven, you are well now?" Starfire smiled, feeling her forehead. "We found you on the floor and were worried about your health-"  
"I'm fine, just tired," Raven interrupted, not in the mood for one of the Tamaranian's rants.

"Well whatever you did, Sleeping Beauty-" she heard from Cyborg holler above her, "-it worked; Beast Boy is back to normal."

Robin helped her up so she could see for herself. Sure enough, lying in the bed was Beast Boy. He was paler than before but otherwise he looked just like he had before the fight. Raven smiled, grabbing the sleeping man's hand in her own and giving it a squeeze. _'I knew you could it.'_

"What exactly did you do?" Robin enquired, gazing at her and sensing that he wouldn't like the response.

He must not have noticed the mirror on the floor, too preoccupied with her, Raven thought. "I went into the Beast's mind and encouraged him to change back," she answered honestly, ignoring the glare Robin was giving her.

"That sounds dangerous."

"Well, we're both here so it wasn't," she reasoned.

"Raven, you could have-"

"Stop, Robin!" she said in an agitated tone, "You don't understand how my mirror works. Hell, I don't even fully understand it myself. All I know is that I had to try. Healing hadn't worked before so I took a different – more risky – approach and if the only consequence is exhaustion then I can live with that."

Robin stayed silent, as did Starfire and Cyborg. From the way Robin's mask remained fixed in a disapproving position, he wasn't satisfied with her answer. However, he could hardly judge her for her recklessness when he had made similar decisions in the past.

"You're dismissed from missions for twenty-four hours," he stated after a pause. "I don't want to see you outside of your room until you've rested up."

"Can I at least stay here until he wakes up?" she asked, looking from Robin to Beast Boy, who was still asleep.

"If I told you no, would you listen?"

"We both know the answer to that."

Robin smirked, nodding his approval to her reasonable request as Cyborg chuckled in the background.

"Good work, Raven," Robin praised, leaving the room with Starfire following behind him. She sat down in the chair Starfire had occupied before and watched as Beast Boy's chest rose and fell. Cyborg came over and handed her a plastic cup full of water, which she accepted gratefully.

"So, he's okay?" she asked the half-robot.

"His vitals are stable," Cyborg reassured her. "We just need him to wake up and tell us some God-awful jokes to make sure."

"His jokes aren't that bad," she said before she realised the works were coming out of her mouth. Her cheeks blushing red, she went to pull up her hood to hide when she realised that one of her friends had removed it from her.

"Ha!" Cyborg laughed, pointing at her. "I knew you liked him."

"You're delusional," she said, trying to sound menacing but failing miserably.

"No, delusional is travelling through a magic mirror into some else's psyche!"

"I went with my instinct that healing energy alone wouldn't work and you would have done the same thing," Raven argued.

"Damn right I would have!" Cyborg smiled, "But I didn't just admit that the dude is funny."

"Haven't you got anything better to do?" Raven asked, trying to distract the Titan. "Surely the T-Car could use a tune up?"

Cyborg grinned from ear to ear before saying no.

* * *

It was now evening again. Cyborg had eventually tired of teasing Raven and left her alone with Beast Boy – on the condition that she messaged him when he woke up. Robin and Starfire had made themselves scarce too. Raven had stayed true to her word, not leaving the infirmary. Beast Boy still hadn't woken up and she was fighting to keep her eyes open. She grabbed a pillow from an unoccupied bed, placing it behind her head. Just as she fell back against it, she heard a moan. Wishes of sleep forgotten, she stared at the man in the bed who was moving for the first time in hours. She watched as his green eyes fluttered open.

"Beast Boy?"

He looked around confused until his eyes met hers. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck," he said quietly, his mouth dry. She swiftly got up and got him a cup of water, messaging the others as she did so. Parched, he accepted the water, greedily gulping it down.

"What do you remember?" she asked.

"I know the Beast took control," he said sadly, looking away from her in shame. After the last time he'd transformed, he grew to accept that side of him. But for some reason, her seeing him like that made him want to fall down a crevice. "I remember you talking to me… calling me Garfield…"

"Well that is your name," she said defensively and immediately regretting her short tone. They both went silent.

"I think I remember you saying something about my jokes," he smirked, admiring the embarrassed look that adorned her face. She'd turned away quickly, hoping he hadn't seen the way her cheeks lit up, but he had. Nothing was too quick for his heightened animalistic eyesight, but she didn't need to know that… not yet. "But, it could have been a dream."

Thankful for the reprieve, Raven nodded. "The others will want to see you – they've been worried." She started to stand, but was stopped by him taking her hand in his.

"Wait. You haven't told me if you're okay."

"I'm fine."

"Did you know that your voice gets slightly higher when you lie?" he said, letting go of her hand and crossing his arms in a self-assured fashion.

"Then you must have noticed it get higher when I said your jokes are funny," she smirked, hiding a laugh at the shocked look on his face. She left the infirmary, hoping one day she'd have the courage to tell him how she truly felt, although on some level, she was confident that he already knew…


End file.
